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'Not Guilty' Plea Entered by Montco Man in Saanvi Venna Case

Police say a Montgomery County man killed 10-month-old baby, grandmother.

 

Even with his own confession caught on tape, one Montgomery County man entered a not guilty plea in court on Friday in the case of the murdered Saanvi Venna, 10-months, and her grandmother back in October of 2012.

As Patch reported in 2012, Saanvi's body was found bound in a suitcase at the Marquis apartment complex in Upper Merion Township in October 2012. Police arressted Raghunandan Yandamuri, 26, after discovering a ransom note and evidence that the man was going to attempt to kidnap the girl for money.

The botched kidnapping resulted in the death of two, both Saanvi and her grandmother, police said. Yandamuri confessed to police that he was the murderer.

When Saanvi began crying, Yandamuri allegedly said, he "stuffed" a handkerchief in her mouth to make her stop, and wrapped a bath towel around her head to hold the handkerchief in place. He then described placing her inside a suitcase he found inside the apartment before disposing of her body in the steam room of the men's bathroom inside the apartment complex's gymnasium.

According to ABC, Yandamuri seemed to have a change of heart by Friday. The man plead not guilty on the charges that resulted in the deaths of 10-month-old Saanvi Venna and 61-year-old Satayvahti Venna, said ABC.

According to philly.com, "Judge Steven T. O'Neill accepted the 13 not-guilty pleas from Yandamuri's court-appointed lawyer, Stephen G. Heckman, as the defendant sat quietly next to his attorney."

As Patch previously reported, the prosecution seeks the death penalty.

"O'Neill said the defense could have all the time it needed to prepare for the trial since it was a death-penalty case, but expected the proceeding could begin in the fall," said a philly.com report.

Yandamuri is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, though Heckman said a plea bargin is “certainly something we would consider" in the case.

“We’d have to talk to each other and to him, but I never rule that out,” Heckman told CBS3.

Watch Yandamuri's taped confession here, as published on Patch Nov. 30, 2012.

Related Topics: Murder, Saanvi Venna, and Upper Merion Killer

Andrew J Curtis III

8:39 am on Monday, March 18, 2013

The grandmother in this case is an absolute heroine. She gave her life trying to protect her grandchild and there is no greater love than that.

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